Tire-plug.



R. W. SAMPSON.

TIRE PLUG.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 22.1914. IIENEwED JUNE 21,1915.

1 1 84:, 1 35 Patnted May 23, 191.6.V

PHE COLUMBIA PLANDGRAPM C0.. WASHmCI-mN. D1 c.

rrnn s'rATns PATE ROBERT W. SAMPSON, 0F WESTMOUNT, QUEBEC, CANADA,ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF T0 LOUIS SCHWAB, OF EAST ORANGE, NEW JERSEY.

TIRE-PLUG.

Patented May 23, 1916.

Application led May 22, 1914, Serial No. 84,140. Renewed June 21, `1915.Serial No. 35,426.

To all whom t may concern: n

Be it known that I, ROBERT WILLIAM SAMrsoN, a subject of the King ofGreat Britain, residing at Vestmount, in the -Province of Quebec andDominion of Canada, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inTire-Plugs, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates'to tire plugs of the clamping type wherein an innerhead and an outer cap are drawn together by means of a coperating shank,and more particu-l shoe is built up with heavy elements or lay-r ers oftextile material,to enable it the bet-l ter to withstand the roughtreatment to which it must be subjected. y

lhen punctures occur in the inner tube they must not only behermeticallyV closed, but the closing must be done in such a manner asto subject the material of the inner tube to the least possible abnormalstrain or tension; and the closer must be of such a character that itwill neither cut, destroy nor tear out of the inner tube nor abrase norinjure the outer tube.- kAnd it is to means for accomplishing these endsthat my present improvements are particularly directed.

In the drawings Figure l is a side View of one of my improved plugs;Fig. 2`is a Vertical sectionalview of the same; Fig. 3 is a verticalsectional view of the plug applied to a section of an inner tube; Fig. 4is a vertical sectional View showing the plug applied to an inner tubein position within an outer tube; Fig. 5 is a bottom view of the plug;and Fig. 6 is a Vertical sectional view of a modification.

The same parts are designated by corresponding reference numerals in allthe figures.

The frame work of the plug consists primarily of a metal head-plate l,through which` passes the headed shank 2 which is that the plates l and3 will be drawn together by the rotation of the shank in the well knownmanner. I prefer to make the cap-plate 3 slightly larger than theheadplate l. v

The head-plate l is embedded in a body 4 of rubber or similar iexiblematerial, which is substantially flat upon its upper face and convexupon itsy lower face, and is adapted to 'seat itself smoothly and evenlyagainst thev inner surface of the inner tube 5.

The cap-plate 3 is embedded in a body 6 of rubber or similar flexiblematerial, the rubber upon the upper surface ofthe plate being preferablyof substantial thickness. And in practice I prefer, in making the caps,to close the rubber nearly or quite over the top of the hole in thehead-plate, as

threaded through the metal cap-plate 3, so

shown in Fig. 4, and then to rupture it to permit the shank to be passedup through it, with the result that small flaps or ears of rubber, as 7,7 will be pushed up by the shank, and when the vshank is broken oft'above the cap-plate they will fall back into place, more or less closingthe opening in therubber above the fractured end of the shank,preventing the inner face of the outer tire from being driven downdirectly against the end of the shank, and isolating the metallic partsof the plug from contact with the outer tire tube or shoe. e

When my plugis applied to a puncture in the inner tube the tube will begripped between faces which have substantial bodies of yielding rubber,centrally reinforced by metal plates, with the result that thecompression of the material of the tube will be greatest toward thekcenter of the plug, while toward the edges of the plug, its head andcap will yield somewhat, as shown in Figs. 3 `and 4, so that little, ifany, pressure will be exerted upon the material of the tube by the outeredges of the cap and head. Thus the puncture is closed by a device whichseizes the material around the edges of the aperture firmly andpositively, but with a grip which gradually relaxes t0- ward the outerperiphery of the closer and finallybeoomes merely nominal, so that at nopoint is there any resisting angle or edge over or in Contact with whichthe material of the tube must bend or work. When the repaired inner tubeis placed within the outer tire and is inflated, the air pressure willcause the repaired portion of the inner tube to bed up against theinside bend up the flexible edge lO of the" cap as shown in Fig. 4,the'inner tube yielding inward so as to accommodate the body .ofl thecap,- the edges of which will lie evenly and smoothly'Y between theouter tire or shoev and the inner tube so that the latter will be bentinward upon a gentle, disliing curve without encountering any abruptshoulder or angle which might tend to strainer chafe the material of theinner'tube during the"y use of the tire, while the expansion o f'theflexible edge 9 'of the'head will allow 'it to approximate the newpositionof `the ad-l jacent. portion ofv the innertube. V W'hen,"ytherefore, the plug isclampe'd into an inner tube or tire, and thelatter is inflated withl: in an outer shoe or.l tire, the' under `faceof l the cap will be embedded in the outer sur-l face of the-inner tube,ywhile its upper face will conform itself substantially to the in-l nercurve of the outer tire, the cap becom-l ing convexed and curved on itsunder face" as well as upon its vupper face, and dispos-i ing itselfbetween' the tube and tirev so as t0v present practically -ccntinuousand gently curved and yieldable lines forthe tube' and` tire to followaround it, leaving no opening around vits edges for the tube or tire tobridge or to bed into, and 4presenting nol abrupt shoulder' oredge foreither'the tube or tire to "bear against. Hence the material of theinner tubewillbear'at all points against a gently curvedjsurface, eitherof` the outer tire or of the cap, while the cuter tire will be met bysubstantially the same curved surface as would vb'e'fpresent'ed lby anunplugged portion of the inner tube. Because of this' graduallydiminishing and yieldingv contact y'between .the flexible and attenuatededges' 0f thecap and head and the material of the tire, when the outershoe is bent, through contact with the road, or otherwise, lin service,and vthe inner tube f yields correspondingly, the material of the tubeis subjected to no abnormal stress or strain by the edgesor otherportions of the plug,ybut works tol and fro againstv the yieldingedgesfof'the cap and headwithout being abrased, cut, or strained; withthe result that the plug permanently. and effectually closes thepuncture and keeps it closed under the stress of use'.

It will be seen that. the formation' of the head permits the material ofthe inner tube to be held between the head and cap with a grip `whichgradually diminishes toward thecircumference -of the head vuntil itbecomesmerely nominal. In consequence of-this, when the inner tube-isflexed bythe movements of the tire under a load strain, it may bend,with reference tothe head,

without encountering a ysudden or abrupt circumferential resistance fromthe latter,v

`which'might injure the'inner tube, and it will be understoodA thatinasmuch as the outer face of the head does not bear upon anything whenthe tube is inflated 'the exact configuration of its surface is not ofso much importance as in the case ofthe cap, 'so long as it presentsnothingwhichwill mar orinjure the opposite inside surface of the tube,in case it is collapsed so thatthe head will meet that surface, and sollong as 'i the circumferential portion of the head is adapted to meetthe tute with a gradual approach which will avoid anabrupt contactvywhich would cause injury tothe tire when 1n use.

The use'of the tire tends to press the edges` ggplate closely togetherand'to crowd the rubyber of the cap in so as to morev or less lill Hupthe hole above the ruptured end of the tfshank, thesubstantiallythickened mass of ,rubber above the cap-plate facilitatingthis terial of the outer tube so'as to forestall any chemicalactionbetween them which would deteriorate the outer tube. In Fig.' 6 Ihave shown a modification vexed and the upper face of the head iscon#caved, whichimay be a desirable form, un#

lof the lopeningin thecap above the capder certainy conditions, as itapproximates the position which the innertube must as` sume when it isinflated within the outer 4 tireas shown in'Fig. 4. yBut in this formalso the comparatively thick and yielding bodies of the cap and head arepreserved asy jwell asl the attenuated, flexible edges.

In practice I prefer to form perforations 8, 8, through the cap-platevand head-plate to aid the rubber bodies in gripping the plates, and Ialso prefer to make the head of the plug slightly smaller than the cap,e as the parts thereby accommodate themselves more closely yto theposition lof the inflated tube, but I do not wish to, limit myself tothese details, nor-tootherminor particulars i l of construction which donot enter into the merits of'myinvention. v-

IIaving thus described my invention, what I claim and desire to secureby Letters Patent of the United States is 1. The combination, in lapuncture closer for inner tubes of pneumatic tires, of a head embodyinga cushion of elastic material having extended, attenuated'edges and witha rigid plate embedded therein, acoperating cap embodying la centrallythickened flac 100 wherein the lower face of the capis'concushion ofelastic material having attenuated edges and with a rigid plate embeddedtherein and surrounded on all sides thereby, and means for clamping thehead and cap toward each other.

2. The combination, in a puncture closer for inner tubes of pneumatictires, of a head embodying a cushion of elastic material convexed uponits lower surface and flat upon its upper surface and having extendedattenuated edges and with a rigid plate embedded therein, a cooperatingcap embodying a cushion of elastic material convexed upon its uppersurface and fiat upon its lower surface and having attenuated edges andwith a substantially flat rigid plate embedded therein and surrounded onall sides thereby, and means for clamping the head and cap toward eachother.

3. The combination, in a puncture closer for inner tubes of pneumatictires, of a head embodying a rigid central portion entirely surroundedby an elastic cushion having an extended, attenuated edge, a capembodying a rigid central portion embedded in and entirely surrounded byan elastic cushion having an extended, attenuated edge, and means forclamping the head and cap toward each other.

4L. yThe combination, in a puncture closer for the inner tubes ofpneumatic tires, of a head embodying a centrally substantially rigidcentral portion embedded in and entirely surrounded by a thickenedelastic cushion extended into a thin marginal edge, a cap embodying asubstantially rigid central portion embedded in and entirely surroundedby a centrally thickened elastic cushion extended into a thin marginaledge, and means for drawing the head and cap toward each other.

5. The combination, in a puncture closer for inner tubes of pneumatictires, of a cap embodying a flexible cushion centrally stiifened andhaving an attenuated edge, a cooperating head, and means for clampingthe head and cap toward each other.

6. The combination, in a puncture closer for inner tubes of pneumatictires, of a cap embodying a exible cushion centrally stifened and havinga convexed upper surface and adapted to conform its upper surfacesubstantially with the inner curvatureI of an outer tire when compressedbetween it and an inflated inner tube, a coperating head, and means `forclamping the head and cap toward each other.

7. rlhe combination, in a puncture closer for inner tubes of pneumatictires, of a Cap embodying a flexible, centrally stiifened cushion havinga substantially Hat under face and a convexed upper face, and beingadapted to assume curved and convexed under and upper faces when appliedto an inner tube and compressed between it and an outer shoe, acooperating head, and a means for clamping the head and cap toward eachother.

8. The combination, with the inner tube and the outer shoe of apneumatic tire, of a plug embodying a cap having a flexible, centrallystiened body adapted to embed its lower face centrally in the uppersurface of the inner tube while conforming its upper face substantiallyto the inner curve of the shoe, thereby presenting continuous and:gently curved lines for the tbe and shoe to follow around it from theirline of separation, a cooperating head, and means for clamping the headand cap toward each other.

HOWARD M. ROWE, AGNES GERHAUSER.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for 've cents each, byaddressing'the Commissioner ot Patents, Washington, D. C.

